Archive - April, 2010

Hilarious News #5 Don’t rent this house

April 30, 2010 in Humor with 0 Comments

I heard this on the radio the other day. Trust me, it is not for the fainthearted, but it will make for good conversation around the watercooler.

A house owner named Sue Walters had been renting out her house to the same tenants for years. She kicked them out for whatever reason and when she arrived to the home, she panicked because it smelled like ammonia. If you didn’t know, ammonia is in most cleaning products and a key ingredient used in meth labs. It is also one of the reasons doing meth is so stupid.

The cat inspectors. Click pic to see original story

She alerted the police and they came, suited up, to inspect the house. The good news? There was no meth lab. The bad news? The stench was caused by carpets that were soaked in cat pee.

Apparently, cat pee turns into ammonia after several years. The previous tenants owned several felines and apparently forgot to potty train them. I suppose after so many years they figured it would turn into ammonia and clean itself up.

Walters plans on doing a deep clean of the place and renting the home out again, but I am pretty sure the only deep cleaning that will solve this problem includes a couple of matches and some kindling.

Anyone out there a cat lover?

Top 5: Movie Scenes that almost made me cry

April 27, 2010 in Cultural Connection, Favorite Posts, Humor with 0 Comments

It’s time to get vulnerable.

I don’t cry in movies. At least, the last movie I cried in was when I saw Beauty and the Beast in theatres in 1991 (I was 5). It’s not that I am completely heartless, (I’ve cried in real life since then) I just don’t cry in movies. Probably because I am insecure. There are several movies, however, that have gotten me very close to bursting into tears. My eyes even got watery! All of these scenes are extremely well done. Everything (acting, music, script, everything!) works together in such an incredible way.

Number 5: “The Constant”

This would easily be higher in the top 5, but it is actually from a tv show, LOST, and therefore loses points. Granted, LOST is better than 87% of movies out there, but I digress. In this scene, Desmond has been separated from the love of his life, Penny, for years. Because of some weird circumstances, he needs her to answer the phone or else he will die. This is the scene of their phone conversation and it is mind blowing. The acting and editing and music really stand out. When I got the dvd I watched this scene 5 times in a row. Click the picture below to see it on youtube (sorry, wouldn’t let me embed, the video is 3 minutes).

Number 4: Mufasa!!!

The Lion King might be the best animated movie in history. In this scene, we see the reign of one of the greatest Kings to ever walk up Pride Rock come to an end. Don’t believe your Uncle Simba! He lies!

Number 3: Labour of Love

Some people I know never watched the newest Star Trek because it is too dorky. Allow me to say, these people are total fools, and the opening scene in this movie proves it. Not only does this scene almost make me cry, and rips my insides in half at the same time. It is also the best picture of the gospel in any of these scenes. If you are concerned that you won’t like Star Trek, just watch the first 10 minutes and I promise you won’t be able to stop. The video below is the best one I could find. The guy apparently changed the music and the video quality is not very high, so to really appreciate this scene you need to rent the movie. Do it now! The part that really gets ya’ is the second half of this video

2: You Bow to No One

This scene is part of the reason Lord of the Rings is the best story ever made up. I don’t think Frodo even realized he had saved the world until this point. But the most unlikely person can make the biggest difference, and we see the results here. Again, no embedding, so you will have to click the picture to see the minute long clip on youtube.

1: Carl and Ellie from UP

Wow. Just thinking about this scene gets to me. Pixar, your genius never ceases to amaze me.

So, did I miss anything? I’m sure I did. Anyone think I am a loser for liking these scenes? Holler!

Another New Look

April 27, 2010 in Abundant Life with 0 Comments

OK OK, I know I am not supposed to change themes so often, but I was never really satisfied with the one I had.
I like this one better, so sue me. If you think I made the worst mistake ever, let me know. If you like the changes, well than let me know. I just think this is much easier to read, but it still looks cool.

Have a nice day!

Attack of the Blob

April 25, 2010 in Videos with 0 Comments

This past weekend I had the honor of teaching at Perimeter Church’s 6th grade. Morgan came along and we had a great time together hanging with the students and I enjoyed teaching them tremendously.

One of my favorite parts of thw weekend was the camp’s lake activities. They had a blob (which I have never done in my life) and a rope swing and a couple of big slides. The water was cold, but we braved it anyway.

I have here a video of myself doing two things. The first is my attempt to do a backflip off of the rope swing. As you can imagine, it was a disaster. The second video is of my second blobbing experience of the day. A man who weighed more than 100 pounds than me sent me flying. I like to think I did my impression of what would happen if Godzilla punted me. As you can see in the pictures below, I had no control over what my body and limbs were doing.

I am practically doing a split mid-air

Life above the rim

Hope you find some amusement in my inability to control my body in the air. Anyone else ever been blobbed?

Confessions

April 23, 2010 in Humor with 0 Comments

My friend AJ Passman (who is a new Dad, woohoo!) did this post on his blog and I liked it so much I am stealing it. Which brings me to my first confession…

1) I did not come up with the idea for this post.

2) I cannot stand ketchup. I would strongly make myself puke before eating ketchup. Either way, I will still puke, so the choice is obvious.

The only good ketchup is dead ketchup

3) I really like to cook. Anytime I talk about cooking people always think I am making a wise crack. I’m not sure why, because I don’t ever make wise cracks. Unless they’re eggs I am making.

Visual proof of my love for cooking

4) I really like Norah Jones. I usually try to be pretty manly with my music choices, but I can’t deny my love for Norah. I think I could be driving off a cliff in a flaming car while choking on pretzels and be at peace if “Come Away with Me” was playing.

5) I forget  things all the time. While I am pretty good at fact recollection, I am horrible at task recollection. There were at least 7 times in school where I stuck my homework/term project on the doorknob so that I could not forget it. But somehow, I made it to school and did not have said project. This was before the days of cell phones, which meant I had to ask a teacher if I could call my mom and exponentially increased embarrassment.

Well that’s all I’ve got for now. I’m sure some more will surface in my life now that I am thinking about it, but that will be another post. (confession 6: I sometimes split posts so that i will have more material in the future).

Does anyone else have a confession? Or need to remind me of something I should confess?

Top 5: Soundtracks

April 22, 2010 in Cultural Connection with 0 Comments

Whenever I write creatively I really like to have a musical score playing in the background. Good music from good movies helps me to write faster and have a clear mind while I am doing it. I would even say it is the secret to my success. Some people may not like movie scores, but they would be incorrect in their feelings. Here are my top 5 favorite scores to listen to while writing (or while I am in deep thought). I also included my favorite tracks, in case you should be motivated to buy some, but not all of the music from one of these films.

5) Sherlock Holmes- This one is still new for me, but I love how unique it is and it can really get me working at a fast pace.

Favorite Tracks: “Discombobulate,” “My Mind Rebels at Stagnation,” and “Panic, Shear Bloody Panic.”

4) John Williams- Ok, this isn’t a movie, but this guy has done the most famous themes of the past 40 years.

Favorite Tracks: “Jurassic Park theme,” “E.T.,” “Forrest Gump theme,” “Hook,” and “Duel of Fates.”

3) The Dark Knight: I was listening to this at work one day (probably too loudly) and my coworker said, “I feel like I am flying!” Enough said.

Favorite tracks: “Like a Dog Chasing Cars,” “Introduce a Little Anarchy,” and “Agent of Chaos.”

2) Legends of the Fall: I actually know this soundtrack better than the actual movie. I like it better than the movie too.

Favorite tracks: “The Ludlows,” “Alfred Moves to Helena,” and “Alfred, Tristan, the Colonel, the Legend.”

1) The Lord of the Rings: Seriously, did you expect anything else? Oscar winning Score? Check. Incredible music? Check. Soundtrack to the best movie of all time? Triple check.

Favorite tracks: “The Breaking of the Fellowship,” “Concerning Hobbits,” “Into the West (no lyrics),” “The Battle of Pelennor Fields,” and “Lighting of the Beacons.”

Do you have any good thinking music that I left out? Are you as offended as I am that Braveheart’s music in this list? Hit me with your feedback!

Nice Find # 1

April 12, 2010 in Good Stuff with 0 Comments

It’s time for another series of blog posts. I’m excited.

There is a world out there full of creative things. Some of them are good, and some are not so good. I get to see a lot of these creative things because it is part of my job. So each week, I will have a “Nice Find” for you. I may even have two, or three. The nice find could be anything creative: A book, a blog, a video, a movie, an online video, a song, or a combination of all!

Well, I am not sure if there is a book that has a song in it that is written for people older than 4, but whatever.

This week’s nice find is a music video I have really been enjoying on youtube. It is a song by Phil Wickham called “You’re Beautiful” and it is so good! The lyrics and the music are both incredible. Our student band (led by Alex Maeland) actually played this last week and did a great job.

I also like the video. Someone created using a program that I wish I was better at (either Motion or After Effects I am guessing). But the imagery goes along with the music really well and makes for a cool viewing experience.
But don’t take my word for it!

Do you have any nice finds you would like to share with the world?

Hilarious News Stories #4

April 11, 2010 in Humor with 0 Comments

Well the cat is out of the bag.

One of the oldest rivalries in civilization has had a surprising twist. For years, postmen and dogs have lived at odds with one another. But now, in the United Kingdom, a cat has decided to jump in on the action.

MSNBC is reporting that Postal Workers will no longer deliver mail to a woman’s house because of her crazy cat that keeps attacking them. Now, one may think that this cat is crazy and full of energy, kind of like the cat in this picture below…

Thundercats!

You would think that cat would be crazy, but you would be wrong. This deadly cat and nemesis to all postal workers in the UK is actually 19 years old. Now I haven’t met many 19 year old cats, but considering the fact that cats in the prime of their youth spend most of their day sleeping, I can’t imagine a cat who has used 8.5 lives does much of anything. I also can’t imagine, that even if this cat attacked me with it’s walking stick, that I would be so intimidated that I would never return.

But then again, I am no postal worker and I have never been to the U.K.

What do you think? Would you be afraid of a 19 year old cat?

LUG Update

April 5, 2010 in Videos with 0 Comments

I should have posted this a week ago, but here is an update video on LUG this year. If you do not know what LUG is, you can read about it below.

LUG is our Wednesday night program for Middle School Students. It is broken down into 3 sections 40 minute thirds (or periods, if you like Hockey). The first is a crazy, fun, and energizing time with music, skits, games, prizes, and more. The middle portion is the most important, here the students break off into discipleship groups that are lead primarily by High School Students (called LUGHeads) with some back-up from an adult volunteer. Although some people think High Schoolers are not capable of this kind of leadership, the results speak for themselves. We have had tremendous growth over the years and have many current LUG Heads who chose to lead a middle school group because of the impact their LUG Head had on them. In the final third, we gather again as a large group to hear some teaching and respond in worship to God. It is an amazing time and I love being a part of it!

If you have questions about LUG, feel free to send an e-mail or write a comment at anytime!

Top 5 Rabbits of All-Time

April 3, 2010 in Humor with 0 Comments

Ah yes, it’s time for another top 5.

In honor of the Easter Bunny and the good cheer he (or she) will be bringing this week, I am counting down the 5 best rabbits in history. So, may the countdown begin!

5) The Energizer Bunny- He just keeps going! And going! And going!

He does have some nice shades

4) Rabbit- As one of Winnie the Pooh’s sidekicks, Rabbit is the resident naysayer. But he did grow some delicious carrots.

Always naysaying

3) Roger Rabbit- Who Framed Roger Rabbit was one of my favorite movies as a kid. I also remember meeting Roger Rabbit at Disney World when I was in Kindergarten.

Seriously, who framed him?

2) Bigwig- Bigwig is a rabbit from one of my favorite books of all time, “Watership Down.” He may look mean in this picture, but that is only because he is protecting his friends from the most sinister of all rabbits: General Woundwort. If you think I am at all joking about how much I love this book, you are seriously mistaken.

Bigwig is a Big Deal

1) Bugs Bunny- “Eh, what’s up doc?” What’s amazing about Bugs is that I love him just as much, if not more, as an “adult” then I did as a kid.

Graphic500x500

So what do you think? Have I forgotten any famous wabbits?

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